Method for sewing covers on baseballs



July 30, 1957 c. E. GREVER 2,800,866

METHOD FOR SEWING COVERS ON BASEBALLS Filed June 24, 1954 mmvron cnAnpss EDWARD GREVER BY DES JARDINS, ROBINSON 8- KEISER HIS ATTORNEYSMETHGD FOR SEWHNG COVERS N BASEBALLS Charles Edward Grever, Cincinnati,Ohio, assignor of fifteenone-hundre'dtlis to Them'as Hogan, Jr.,Cincinnati, Ohio Application-June 24, 1954, Serial No. 438,910 zcinms.or. 112-2562 This invention relates to a novel method of sewing coverson baseballs and to an apparatus for facilitating the handling of theneedles and thread in the sewing operation.

In the past, it has been the custom to sew baseballs entirely by handthere being no suitable apparatus known for aiding the artisan in theperformance of this difficult and tedious task. Also, it has been thepractice in sewing baseballs to insert the needles through the seambetween the covers and to come out through the perforations, that is, tosew from the inside out. This method is slow and tedious since theworkman must hunt with the points of the needles for the perforations onthe underside of the covers. After the needles are brought up throughthe perforations, the arms must be widely extended to draw the longsewing threads through the perforations and thereby draw up thestitches.

In order to facilitate and speed up the sewing operation, I have deviseda novel method of stitching the covers and have devised an apparatus forenabling my method to be performed in a rapid, easy manner. Inaccordance with my method the covers are stitched from the outside in,that is, the points of the needles are inserted in the perforations onthe outside of the covers and brought out through the seam ahead of thestitching. To facilitate this method of stitching, a shield is disposedbeneath the seam to prevent the points of the needles from entering thewound body of the ball when they are pushed in through the perforations.I have also devised means for enabling the workman to pull the stringsthrough the perforations, after the needles have been brought out,without any sidewise movement of the arms whatsoever. All the Workmanneed do is hook the threads over a pair of mechanically operatedelements by a circular movement of his hands and then actuate the deviceto cause the elements to draw the thread through the covers while heholds the needles in his hands. The threads will thereby be drawn througthe covers and the stitches drawn up without the necessity of a widesweep of the arms.

To further expedite the sewing operation, improved means is provided forholding the ball in place in front of the operator in either a yieldablemanner or in a tightly clamped condition in which the ball will berigidly held in position when the needles are inserted in theperforations and when the stitches are being pulled up and tightened.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide an improvedmethod of sewing covers on baseballs.

Another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus forfacilitating the operation of sewing on the covers.

Another object of my invention is to provide a sewing shield forinsertion beneath the seam being stitched.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device for pulling thethreads through the perforations after the needles have been pulledthrough.

"nited States Pattern:

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Another object of my invention is to provide an improved type of visefor enabling th eball' to beheld either tightly clamped or yieldablyretained.

Further objects and objects' relating to details of construction andmodes of operation will readily appear from the detaileddescription tofollow. In one instance, I have accomplished the objects of theinvention by the method and apparatus disclosed in the followingspecification; The invention is clearly defined and pointed out in'theappended claims;

In the drawingswhich accompany and form a part of this application:

Fig. l is a top plan view of my baseball sewing apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a sideview of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken along the line 33in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of certain of the parts shown in' Fig. 1.

Fig; 5 is an enlarged perspective'view of the sewing shield.

As heretofore" mentioned, my invention concerns a novel method of sewingcovers on baseballs as well as an apparatus for aiding the operator incarrying out the method. The novel stitching method which I have devisedinvolves a' sewing procedure which is just the reverse of that Which hasalways been used in the past in sewing covers on balls. Herefoforeflithas been customary to form the" stitches by inserting the points of theneedles throilghthe' seam and" then into the perforations from theunderside of the covers, after which the needles are pushed out throughthe covers and then pulled through from the outside. In this method theworkman cannot see the perforations into' which he must insert thepoints of his needles and it is necessary for him to search with thepoints of the needles until he feels them enter the perforations.

In accordance with my method, the points of the needles are inserted inthe perforations from the outside of the covers which is easily andquickly done since the perforations are in plain sight of the workman.The points of the needles are then brought out through the seam ahead ofthe stitching after which the needles are pulled through and thestitches tightened. The points of the needles are'then' inserted in thenext pair of perforations and the needles again brought out through theseam as before. This procedure is followed until the entire ball hasbeen stitched. To facilitate the stitching of the covers from theoutside in, I insert a thin metal plate or shield beneath the seam andbetween the covers and the ball so as to prevent the point of theneedles from catching in the threads constituting the Winding of theball. This shield may be of small width and length since it need extendonly a short distance beyond the perforations on either side of the seamand a short distance along the length of the scam in advance of thestitching to assist in guiding" the needles up through the seam. Theshield maybe moved ahead as the stitching proceeds to maintain it inposition beneath the perforations.

The manner in which the stitching is commenced and carried on around theseam of a ball 9 is indicated in Fig. 4 where reference numeral 10indicates the point on the seam where the stitching is commenced. BeforeI the sewing operation begins, the covers are moistened in the customarymanner and placed in position on the ball where they are held by staples11 which are driven through the covers and into the ball on oppositesides of the seam at spaced intervals along the seam. To start thesewing operation, the stitching needles are struck into the ball onopposite sides of the seam at some distance away from the point wherethe stitching is to commence. For example, the points of the needles maybe inserted at positions indicated by reference numerals 12 and 13 andpushed through the body of the ball until the points emerge through theseam at the position indicated by reference numeral 10. The needles arethen brought out through the seam and the points inserted in theperforations indicated by reference numerals 14 and 15 and the pointsagain brought out through the seam at a point beyond the stitches justmade. After the needles are pulled out of the seam, the threads arepulled through so as to tighten the stitches. The needles are theninserted in the next pair of perforations and the points brought outthrough the seam ahead of the stitching. The threads are then pulledthrough and tightened to form the next pair of stitches. This procedureis followed around the seam until the entire ball has been stitched.

To facilitate this method of sewing on baseball covers I have devisedthe apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive. As herein shown, theapparatus comprises a stand (Fig. 2) which includes a pair of pedestals21 and a top or table 22 supported on the pedestals. A vise 23 forholding the ball to be stitched is mounted on the front of the table,this vise including a stationary jaw 24 and a movable jaw 25. The jaw 24is secured to the upper end of a bracket 26 which is secured to the topof the table. The movable jaw is secured to the upper end of a lever 27which is pivoted on a stud 28 fastened to the table 22 as indicated inFig. 3. Beneath the table, the lever 27 is provided with a dependingknee plate 29 on which pressure may be applied by the knee of theworkman in order to manipulate the movable jaw of the vise. A tensionspring 30 is connected between the knee plate 29 and the bottom of thetable for exerting constant pressure on the ball 9 placed between thejaws of the vise. Hence, the ball will always be held in place in thevise under the yieldable pressure applied by the spring 30. When it isdesirable to tightly clamp the ball in the vise, pressure may be appliedby the knee to the plate 29 to supply additional clamping force to themovable jaw 25 of the vise.

As illustrated in Fig. 3 the jaws 24 and 25 are shaped to conform to thespherical shape of the ball 9. Inasmuch, however, as it is not desirableto clamp too great a surface of the ball in the vise since to do sowould interfere with the stretching of the covers around the ball as thestitching proceeds, the jaws 24 and 25 are formed with a radius slightlylarger than that of the ball 9 so that pressure is applied to only asmall area on each side of the ball by the jaws. Hence, the edges of thejaws will not apply any substantial pressure to the ball covers and thecovers will be free to stretch as the stitches are pulled tight.

Secured by a pivot screw 34 to the table 22 behind the vise 23 is abracket 35 to which is fastened one end of a spring arm 36 whichprojects forwardly toward the vise. The spring arm 36 has mounted on itsforward end a substantially flat blade or shield 37 formed of a thin,hard metal such as steel. The arm 36 may be made of any suitablematerial and is preferably made from round stock so as to be free toflex in any direction. Flexibility of the spring arm permits the shield37 to be maintained beneath the seam being stitched even though the ballbe moved about somewhat in the vise. As best shown in Fig. 5, the shield37 has a pear-shaped contour with the narrow end thereof attached to theend of the spring arm 36. As shown in Fig. 5, the shield is formed up inthe middle to provide a central rib 38 which assists in guiding thepoints of the needles up through the seam.

After needles have been inserted in the perforations on the outside ofthe covers and guided by the shield 37 up through the seam between thecovers, the needles are pulled clear of the perforations and the threadsbehind the needles are passed about hooks 42 4 on arms 43 by a circularmovement of the hands. There after, a foot pedal 44 pivoted on a rod 45extending between the pedestals 21 of the stand is depressed by the leftfoot of the operator to move the upper end of a lever 46 integral withthe pedal 44 toward the front of the apparatus. The lever 46 isterminated in a bight 47 which engages with eyes formed on the ends of apair of links 48. The other end of each link 48 is linked through an eyeformed in the end of a crank arm 49 which is integrally connected withone of the arms 43 through a vertical shaft 50. Each vertical shaft 50is journaled in a bearing 51 attached to a bracket 52 secured to therear edge of the table as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The arms 43 aremaintained at the elevation shown in Fig. 2 by means of collars 53fastened to the shafts 50 immediately above the bearings 51. Hence, whenthe foot pedal is depressed, the upper end of the lever 46 will pull thecranks 49 forwardly and cause the arms 43 to be swung outwardly to thepositions shown in dot and dash outline in Fig. l. The thread which hasbeen engaged over the hook 42 will be thereby pulled through theperforations while the hands grasping the needles are held in thevicinity of the vise. The threads will be yieldably pulled taut byreason of the flexibility of the arms 43' and the torsional springeffect of the vertical shafts 50. When the foot pedal is released,spring 54 (Fig. 2) tensioned between an extension 55 on the foot pedaland an extension 56 on the left-hand pedestal will return the foot pedaland the arms 43 to their initial positions as determined by the abutmentmembers 57 (Fig. 2) formed on the arms 55 and 56.

The operation of my apparatus is as follows:

The ball to be stitched is placed in the vise by moving the lever 27counterclockwise about its pivot against the tension spring 30 to spreadthe jaws apart and allow the ball 9 to be placed therebetween afterwhich the lever is released to permit yieldable retention of the ballbetween the jaws. As previously explained in connection with Fig. 4,stitching is commenced by inserting the needles at points 12 and 13 andpiercing the covers and body of the ball to come out through the seam atthe point 10. While this operation is being performed, the knee is heldagainst the plate 29 so as to clamp the ball tightly between the jaws ofthe vise and prevent movement thereof. The shield 37 is then insertedbeneath the seam after which pressure on the plate 29 is released andthe ball rotated toward the shield to move the forward end of the latterbeneath the perforations 14 and 15. The workman then places his kneeagainst the plate 29 to tightly clamp the ball and places the points ofthe needles in the perforations 14 and 15. The needles are passedthrough the covers and guided up through the seam. The operator thengrasps the ends of the needles and pulls them free of the covers andwith a circular motion of the hands engages the thread over the hooks42. Then, holding the needles close to the vise 23, he depresses thefoot pedal 44 with his left foot to swing the arms 43 outwardly tothereby draw the thread through the covers and pull the stitches tight.The foot pedal 44 is then released to enable the spring 54 to return thearms 43 to the positions shown in Fig. 1. As the arms return, thethreads will drop off the hooks 42 and fall to the table 22. Any finaltightening of the stitches is now accomp plished in the customary mannerafter which the pressure on the vise is released by moving the knee awayfrom the plate 29. The ball is now rotated backwards slightly if need beto maintain the perforations over the shield 37. The needles are theninserted in the next pair of perforations and guided out through theseam as before. The needles are then pulled clear of the ball and thethreads looped over the hooks on arms 43 after which the foot pedal isdepressed to pull the threads through the covers. The foot pedal is thenreleased to allow the arms to return to their initial position andpressure is removed from the plate 29 to free the ball in the vise. Theball is now repositioned in the vise, if necessary, and the stitchingoperation is continued. As the stitching proceeds the staples 11 areremoved one after the other as they are approached by the shield. Thelast few stitches must, of course, be made without the aid of the shield37 which will have to be removed from beneath the seam before the finalstitches are taken. Upon removal of the shield for this purpose, it maybe swung out of the way by rotating the bracket 35 about the screw 34 bywhich it is secured to the table 22.

While I have described my invention in connection with one possible formor embodiment thereof and have used, therefore, certain specific termsand language herein, it is to be understood that the present disclosureis illustrative rather than restrictive and that changes andmodifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orthe scope of the claims which follow.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, anddesire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of sewing cover on baseballs using two sewing needles andtwo threads comprising the steps of first striking the needles throughthe body of the ball so as to come up through the seam in the directionof stitching, inserting a sewing shield beneath the seam between thecovers and the body of the ball, inserting the points of the sewingneedles in the outside faces of the covers on opposite sides of theseam, pushing the needles through the covers and against the shield soas to deflect the points upwardly through the seam ahead of thestitching, pulling the needles through the covers, tightening thestitches thus formed, and then advancing the shield beneath the seampreparatory to forming the next pair of stitches by again inserting thepoints of the needles in the outside faces of the covers on oppositesides of the seam and pushing them through the covers, against theshield and up through the seam.

2. The method of sewing covers on baseballs using two sewing needles andtwo threads comprising the steps of inserting a sewing shield beneaththe seam between the covers and the body of the ball, inserting thepoints of the sewing needles in the outside faces of the covers onopposite sides of the seam, pushing the needles through the covers andagainst the shield so as to deflect the points of the needles upwardlythrough the seam ahead of the stitches, pulling the needles through thecovers, tightening the stitches thus formed, and then advancing theshield beneath the seam preparatory to forming the next pair of stitchesby again inserting the points of the needles in the outside faces of thecovers on opposite sides of the seam and pushing them through thecovers, against the shield and up through the seam.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS759,533 Ladd May 10, 1904 1,072,102 Doran Sept. 2, 1913 1,126,609Woodward Ian. 26, 1915 1,129,415 Morgan Feb. 23, 1915 1,149,646Hardenbrook Aug. 10, 1915 1,167,265 Brusseau Jan. 4, 1916 1,361,292Summers Dec. 7, 1920 1,923,359 Fegan Aug. 22, 1933 1,960,803 Baumer May29, 1934 1,994,703 Hawes Mar. 19, 1935

